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She’s baaaaack….

That’s right, people…Lindsay is still alive!! I know you were all incredibly concerned. 🙂

An update on my life: My “big girl” job in the financial world is going swimmingly…definitely a challenge but one that I am learning so much from. I’ve also met some wonderful people along the way. With that said, I am still in the market to market your business, so don’t be shy about contacting me!

Each day on my commute to and from work, I have many “epiphanies” about what my next blog post will be…so much marketing everywhere! I’ve been having major blogging withdrawal, so I am thankful that I have a few spare minutes to give you all an update.

The subject of today’s post is Pairings Food and Wine Market. Well, as a matter of fact, we recently hosted our first event ofthe year (first ever for me personally) at Pairings. Needless to say, I’ve been planning this event since my first day on the job, so it was my “baby”. I’ve also had dinner and drinks there with a friend…yummy yummy. 🙂

The event went very smoothly as we “wined and dined” clients – the food was great, the wine was wonderful, and the atmosphere was unique and classy. The service was great, and I would definitely recommend having an event there for anybody with a party of 10 people or less. On a personal level, if you are meeting a friend to catch up or looking for a place to go on a casual date, Pairings is your place!

If you haven’t guessed already, I am a wino…that’s what a 3 week internship at a winery in Napa, CA will do to a person, right Jenn?? 🙂 BUT I digress…if you’re ever in the neighborhood, stop in to Pairings Food and Wine Market or if you have an event in the area, they have a yummy catering menu as well.

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by lindsayplathe2012 on March 2, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged financial event, financial seminar, Food, Pairings Food and Wine Market, wine

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on March 2, 2013

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/shes-baaaaack/

Pros and Cons of Marketing

Many of my friends and relatives can attest to this fact: I hate making decisions…especially the difficult kind. Who does, though? Really? To cope with this hatred, I have been known to make many a “pros and cons” list – from my college choice to who I’d be taking to prom…yes, even the petty things got a list. 🙂 I’ve talked to many small business owners since starting Lindsay Plathe Marketing Consulting in September, and I still find it difficult to explain to them what marketing will do for their business. I have a degree in Marketing, so it was never really a question of whether it was important. Ha! But now, as a business owner, myself, I have a better understanding of how to make smart decisions in business. With that said, I decided to share with all of you a page from my “pros and cons” book (yup, the collection of them all is the size of a book…don’t judge me).

Advantages

Disadvantages

Promotion of your business

The most obvious advantage and reason any business markets is to get the recognition and attention of its target market.

Cost

Some marketing mediums are very costly – putting an ad in the newspaper or a commercial on TV is simply out of the price range for many small businesses. The good news is that with the proper research to back it up, you can keep your marketing costs to a minimum! For example, the Internet is a highly inexpensive way to promote a business. Advertising and marketing costs money.

Enhanced brand recognition

This is the point I was trying to get across in my post “A search for my fellow marketing nerds“. Over time, people begin to associate your logo with your business and all that comes along with it (i.e. customer service, product quality, timeliness, etc).

Investment of time

Researching the right marketing strategy, designing and writing, and tracking how successful your marketing is are only a few things involved in proper promotion of your business. By doing marketing yourself, you run the risk of waiting time on an unsuccessful campaign, and let’s be honest, our time is valuable.

Improves the businesses profits

(aka: you make more $$$)

Every business needs to spend money to make money, and investing in marketing will do just that if done correctly.

Ongoing

Research shows that people have to see a piece of information between 3 and 30 times before it sinks in. So clearly a disadvantage of marketing is the fact that your marketing campaign needs to be ongoing and consistent which increases the time and money spent on it.

I can say that this method of weighing my decisions has been successful for me in the past…I mean, prom was a blast 🙂 Let’s take a look…(just for kicks and giggles)

What are you doing for your marketing strategy? Do you have a plan for 2013? Weigh out the pros and cons of having some solid marketing behind your business, and let’s make it one successful year!

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by lindsayplathe2012 on January 3, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Inspiration, Uncategorized

Tagged Brand, Business, Market, market research, Marketing and Advertising, Marketing strategy, Promotion, Small business, Target market

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on January 3, 2013

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/pros-and-cons-of-marketing/

An epic quest into the world of finance

Gang, I have some bittersweet news…actually more sweet then bitter. 🙂 I recently got a job in a marketing position within the financial industry! Woo hoo! Since starting Lindsay Plathe Marketing Consulting, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to learn about many different industries. I am continuing that trend by diving (head-first) into marketing in a whole new world…or so it seems. :S Anyway, I’m so excited to take this journey!

Fear not! This isn’t the end of Lindsay Plathe Marketing Consulting!! I will continue to be available for all your (and your friends’) marketing needs in the evenings. Feel free to call me then, otherwise, contact me through email and I will get back to you within 2 business days.

More updates to come on this new chapter in my life…Stay tuned to learn about marketing in the world of finance.

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by lindsayplathe2012 on December 29, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Business, Consulting, Content marketing, finance, Finance marketing, financial planning, Internet Marketing, marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Marketing Services, Search engine optimization

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on December 29, 2012

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/an-epic-quest-into-the-world-of-finance/

Social Media for My Fellow Caffeinated Dummies

As an avid coffee-drinker, I found this graphic very helpful in explaining just how each social media venue specifically works…check it out!

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by lindsayplathe2012 on December 18, 2012 • Image • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on December 18, 2012

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/social-media-for-my-fellow-caffeinated-dummies/

Top 12 Ad Campaigns of the 20th Century

As I was doing my usual caffeinated, morning marketing research, I came across an awesome article on CNBC. The following introduction written by Contence Parten which is what intrigued me to feature this on today’s post.

“As the old adage goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Nothing could be truer when it comes to advertising. Great ads can yield dramatic results, but if the product quality isn’t there, well, that horse won’t be pulling out the platinum card anytime soon.

Still, great ad campaigns can be revolutionary. They can change the way people live their daily lives—for better or for worse.[…]”

Take a few minutes and think about how advertising has changed over the last 50+ years…it’s really quite remarkable.

12. Apple Computer’s “1984”

“This commercial, designed by the advertising agency Chiat/Day to introduce Apple’s Macintosh computer and directed by Ridley Scott—fresh off his science fiction classic Blade Runner—has never run again [on TV] since that Super Bowl spot. But few commercials have ever been more influential.Advertising Age named it the 1980s’ Commercial of the Decade. You can still see its echoes today in futuristic ads for technology and telecommunications multinationals such as AT&T, MCI, and Intel.”

11. Federal Express’ “Fast talker” (1982)

“Thirty years after making a name for himself as the fast talker in FedEx’s legendary ad campaign, John Moschitta unleashed his manic mouth on the world once more with a series of ads for JetBlue.”

10. Avis’ “We try harder” (1963)

“As Avis says on its website, “The phrase ‘We Try Harder’ has gone down in advertising history as one of the longest-lasting and respected taglines. The origination of the slogan was not to create a cute gimmick, but instead it was—and is—a business philosophy that every Avis employee holds true. ‘We Try Harder’ has helped Avis earn a reputation as one of the most admired businesses in the world.”

9. Clairol’s “Does she … or doesn’t she?” (1957)

“How successful was this campaign? Well, Time magazine wrote in a 1967 article, ‘The question, as every reader of advertisements knows, refers to artificial hair color—and the odds on an affirmative answer have dropped from 15 to 1 to 2 to 1 since Miss Clairol first asked it 11 years ago. Sales of tints, rinses and dyes have risen from $25 million to $186 million a year. So popular is their use that some states no longer require women to list their hair color on their driver’s licenses.'”

8. Miller Lite’s “Tastes great, less filling” (1974)

“For years, Miller Lite drinkers, including notables like comic Rodney Dangerfield and football coach John Madden, bickered back and forth. Some said the drink tasted great. Others said it was less filling.

The commercials were a big hit for the brewing company, which revived the campaign in 2008, albeit using an arguably better looking cast of characters than in Dangerfield’s and Madden’s day.”

7. Absolut Vodka’s Absolut Bottle (1981)

“The campaign was such a success that Absolut continues to use it today. In fact, according to AbsolutAds.com, ‘Absolut Vodka’s advertising campaign is the world’s longest-ever uninterrupted one. To date it comprises 1,450 original ads, with more added each month.'”

6. DeBeers’ “A diamond is forever” (1948)

“An advertising campaign can last forever as well, it seems.[…] As the De Beers website explains, ‘In 1947 a young copywriter called Frances Gerety was working with De Beers and was given a brief to compose a line that encompassed and expressed the physical attributes and legends surrounding the diamond. The understanding is that she worked late into the night on the challenging brief and, about to admit defeat, she then scribbled the sentence which would later be voted as the most iconic advertising slogan of the twentieth century—A Diamond Is Forever. Books and films of cult status have been named after this tagline, and a song featuring the phrase has been recorded numerous times by some of the world’s most popular artists.'”

5. McDonald’s “You Deserve a Break Today” (1971)

“Ronald McDonald, the true icon of the McDonald’s brand, hasn’t been in every single ad campaign. The fast-food chain turned its attention to busy consumers in this 1971 campaign, focusing on the ease with which a McDonald’s meal could be obtained.”

4. Nike’s “Just Do It” (1988)

“In 2008, Nike celebrated one of the most memorable advertising campaign slogans in history by creating new ads to air during the Beijing Olympic games.”

3. Marlboro’s “Marlboro Man” (1955)

“It doesn’t get much more iconic than this. As AdAge.com wrote of this legendary ad campaign, “The most powerful—and in some quarters, most hated—brand image of the century, the Marlboro Man stands worldwide as the ultimate American cowboy and masculine trademark, helping establish Marlboro as the best-selling cigarette in the world. ‘Today, even a mention of the Marlboro Man as an effective ad icon brings protests from health-care workers who see firsthand the devastation wrought by decades of cigarette smoking. More than any other issue, the ethics of tobacco advertising—both morally and legally—have divided the advertising industry.'”

2. Coca-Cola’s “The pause that refreshes” (1929)

“‘I’ve always admired brands that preserve their core campaign for decades,’ wrote independent ad counsel Chris Macrae in an article on AllAboutBranding.com. ‘Coca-Cola provided a stunning example with “Pause that Refreshes” (USA 1930s to 1950s) uplifting a nation at time of depression, championing a product which literally fuelled—emotionally and physically—what was then a developing nation, lobbying the US war office on the extreme fatigue of war and thereby becoming the GI’s mascot during World War 2 and making Coke available at 5c per bottle wherever GIs went.'”

1. Volkswagen’s “Think Small” Campaign (1959)

“Kurt Kroner was the man behind the defining example of the greatest advertising campaign of the century, according to AdAge.com. ‘He wasn’t the copywriter. That was Julian Koenig. Nor was he the art director. That was Helmut Krone. Nor was he elsewhere employed by Doyle Dane Bernbach, the agency that stormed the confining Bastille of advertising orthodoxy to ignite the “creative revolution”.'”

“Actually, our hero wasn’t in advertising at all. Kurt Kroner was the one, among 3,389 Wolfsburg, Germany, assembly plant workers, to flag a blemished chrome strip on the glove compartment of a 1961 Volkswagen Beetle and reject the vehicle for delivery. Yes, if we are to believe Koenig’s copy, Herr Kroner gave us the famously failed and fabulously forlorn ‘Lemon.'”

“God bless him, because in so doing he also gave advertising permission to surprise, to defy and to engage the consumer without bludgeoning him about the face and body. Kroner offered up a lemon with approximately the same result of Eve offering the apple. Not only did everything change, but suddenly things were a lot more interesting.”

I hope you enjoyed your history/marketing lesson for the day and that you found it as interesting as I did. Thanks for stopping by!

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by lindsayplathe2012 on December 12, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Print Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

Tagged Absolut Vodka, ad campaign, advertising, Business, Clairol, De Beers, FedEx, John Moschitta, Macintosh, marketing, McDonald, Miller Lite, print marketing, Ridley Scott, social medi

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on December 12, 2012

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/top-12-ad-campaigns-of-the-20th-century/

Handyman Mike

Happy Wednesday everybody!

Several exciting things happened this week…ironically, I received 3 different requests for marketing consultations at Fireside (my evening employment). Two of them will remain a mystery…for now. 🙂 But stay tuned to see who they are…you won’t be disappointed.

Anywho…it always amazes me how basic friendly conversations with customers lead to more marketing work for me (which I love). With that said, let me tell you a little story…

Mike is a regular at Fireside, but before this week, I had not had the opportunity to meet him. Before officially meeting him, I knew him as “the guy at the bar that plays basketball with the garbage and a crumpled piece of paper and occasionally hits a waitress instead of the intended target”. 🙂 He enjoys having conversations with any of the waitresses or hostesses that aren’t busy for a moment, and they are happy to reciprocate.

The other evening, I had the pleasure of officially meeting Mike which was a new life experience for me and a pretty cool one, too, because Mike is deaf. So the other night I delivered his food to him at the bar, and he signed “Thank you” to me…I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t know how to sign “You’re welcome” back to him, so I just flashed him a big smile and nodded my head. Later, I decided I would just ask him, so I grabbed a napkin and a pen and wrote down my question…he was more than happy to show me (and I think a little excited that someone asked him how to speak his language). If you’re curious, here’s your American Sign Language lesson of the day: Mike proceeded to ask me if I knew any other deaf people to which I responded that I did not, but I knew basic signs like “more”, “please”, “all done” and “thank you” because the one-year-old that I live with used/uses them before he could speak.

Our napkin-and-pen conversation continued for another few minutes while he told me he had to wake up early the next day to go to work and teased me that I probably wouldn’t be getting out of bed until noon. I shook my head and responded that I have a day job, too, so no sleeping in for me. 🙂 From there, I told him that I do various marketing for small businesses, and, turns out he needed just that! Mike is a handyman in the area and needed an updated business card.

Turns out that there are some pretty sweet templates online for construction-related business cards, so I decided that would be a perfect option for this project. These are the two designs that I mocked up:

Handyman Mike Business Card Design #2

Based on the information Mike gave me, I spent time making sure that all the wording accurately portrayed what he does. Because I wasn’t sure what style he would like best, I chose 2 very different designs to give him an option.

I’m excited to see what your thoughts are and what Mike’s final decision will be!

Thanks for tuning in to today’s post! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to check out what wonderful life and marketing experiences I’ve had this week! Until next time…

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by lindsayplathe2012 on December 5, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Clients, Inspiration, Print Marketing, Uncategorized

Tagged American Sign Language, ASL You're Welcome, Basement finishing, business card, Carpenter, Construction, Construction Marketing, Handyman, Handyman Business Cards, Marketing consulting, Remodeling, Sign language, small business marketing

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on December 5, 2012

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/handyman-mike/

Helpful advice and a chuckle

This is a snapshot of my email account a few days ago…this email gave me a chuckle. The title of the email is “i have 6 freaking fantastic marketing tips for you”, so obviously I’m going to open it (they sure know how to market to me)…Inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very helpful video. Check it out for yourself to see how the tips shown can help you!

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by lindsayplathe2012 on December 3, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Inspiration, Uncategorized

Tagged Email, Facebook, Free, Google, Hosting, marketing, small business marketing, small business marketing tips, Twitter, Web Design and Development, YouTube

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on December 3, 2012

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/helpful-advice-and-a-chuckle/

BitterSweet Bakery “I love you like a fat kid loves cake.”

Today’s post is inspired by a couple gentlemen that I recently met at my evening place of employment – Fireside Restaurant…don’t worry, there will be more about Fireside and their epic food in posts to come. 🙂 Anywho…there are a couple things that drove me to writing this post:

1. I LOVE small businesses…especially the “mom and pop” shops and thoroughly enjoy giving shout-outs to new ones that I discover.

2. I wanted to teach you all something new…well, it may be old news to you, but I learned something new…obviously I want to share it all with you!

3. You see, these particular guys have my business card and claimed that they would visit my website soon…well I should’ve made that a bet and put some money down. Hopefully they found it and are currently reading this. 🙂

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present…BitterSweet Bakery

“BitterSweet Bakery is a totally gluten-free bakery, specializing in fresh baked goods. BitterSweet prides itself that everything we offer will be fresh baked. Our unique bakery offers gluten free and dairy free products made fresh daily. We are confident that our food tastes delicious! You don’t have to eat grainy, dry and tasteless gluten free food anymore. There’s something for everyone. Even if you’re not gluten free you will enjoy our products. Stop in and see our new sitting area and enjoy a cup of coffee and a treat.”

Well, you don’t have to tell me twice to go anywhere for coffee and a treat…and did I mention the pictures on their website?…I need to get my buns there ASAP!…no bun pun intended 🙂

Alright, so I first heard about BitterSweet Bakery at Fireside as they are the providers of all our gluten-free pizza dough and buns. The next time I heard about them is when I met one of the owners (**reference guy-with-my-business-card mentioned above).

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…Lindsay’s Lesson of the Day! (I literally just made that up…pretty nice ring to it, I think) So this gluten-free thing…what is it all about? I’ll be honest, I knew very very little about any details related to it…until writing this post, that is. 🙂

The FDA answered some of my basic questions:

1. What is gluten?

The term “gluten” technically refers to a specific complex of proteins that forms when wheat flour is mixed with a liquid and physically manipulated, such as in the kneading of bread.

2. How is the term “gluten” used in the context of celiac disease?

In the context of celiac disease, the term “gluten” is used to collectively refer to gluten in wheat, and to the proteins in other grains that have been demonstrated to cause harmful health effects in individuals who have celiac disease. These grains are wheat (including different varieties such as spelt and kamut), rye, barley, cross-bred hybrids (e.g., triticale, which is a cross between wheat and rye), and possibly oats.

3. What is celiac disease?

Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the small intestine in genetically susceptible individuals. It is triggered by ingesting certain proteins, commonly referred to as “gluten” which is naturally present in some cereal grains.

4. What is the estimated prevalence of celiac disease in the U.S.?

Experts estimate that the percentage of the general population in the United States who has celiac disease is as high as 1%.

5. Can celiac disease be cured?

No, but health care professionals advise that it can be managed with diet. Typically, individuals who have this disease are advised to avoid all sources of gluten in their diet. Over time, strictly avoiding consumption of all gluten sources can improve the symptoms and reduce the associated health risks of celiac disease.

Gluten-Free for Dummies.com gives more reasons to go gluten-free which are also interesting if you have a chance to take a peek.

So now that you’ve learned something new today, are you ready to try something new? If you need a little more convincing to try something new, take a look at what BitterSweets regulars have to say: Testimonials.

Check out BitterSweet Bakery on the web and on Facebook!

1 Comment

by lindsayplathe2012 on November 28, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Inspiration, Uncategorized

Tagged BitterSweet Bakery, celiac disease, Cereal, Coeliac disease, Dummies.com, FDA, Fireside Restaurant, Food, Gluten, Gluten-free diet, Health, Small business, Small intestine, United States

Posted by lindsayplathe2012 on November 28, 2012

https://marketingwithlindsay.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/small-business-feature-of-the-week-bittersweet-bakery-i-love-you-like-a-fat-kid-loves-cake/

Freakishly Fun Fact

According to Nielsen research, 92% of consumers worldwide trust recommendations from friends and family more than any form of advertising.

As recommendations from peers become more prominent online, the influence they have on an individual business’ success continues to grow exponentially. With that said, start asking your friends, family, and clients for recommendations on your business social media sites…the results could surprise you.